Spurs notebook: Ginobili says he nearly slept through draft

HOUSTON — On the night back in 1999 the Spurs made him the 57th pick in the NBA draft, Manu Ginobili was preparing for a game in the middle of the Brazilian Amazon, in a place so remote, it was accessible only by boat or airplane.

He didn’t even realize it was draft night.

“I had checked all the mock drafts, and none of them had me going anywhere,” Ginobili recalled. “So I forgot all about it.”

Expounding on one of the more interesting revelations from his recent “Ask Me Anything” Q&A on Reddit.com before Sunday’s 96-95 loss in Houston, Ginobili said he still remembered the disbelief of being drafted.

The Spurs were a few days removed from winning their first NBA championship. Ginobili was a player still on the fringes of the league’s scouting radar.

“Someone woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me,” Ginobili said. “I said, ‘They’re the defending NBA champions? Are you sure?’ I had no idea they were even looking at me.”

In his 11th season, and a key component of three more Spurs title teams, Ginobili has gone down as one of the greatest draft steals in league history.

As Ginobili can attest, it didn’t feel that way at the time.

“I was excited, for sure,” Ginobili said. “But then again, at 57th, I knew the chances of playing were not that good.”

Omer a mano: The Rockets made a game-planning gamble in their win Sunday, using big man Omer Asik to match up exclusively with Tim Duncan without help.

Duncan finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, but the 7-footer from Turkey hectored the Spurs All-Star into 7 of 18 shooting with five turnovers. Asik well-defended Duncan’s last attempt, a 16-foot fadeaway with 1.9 seconds left.

“Tim’s a Hall of Fame player, and O took him head on,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said.

A familiar face: Rockets backup guard James Anderson admitted it was strange to warm up on one end of the Toyota Center before the game and see Spurs players warming up on the other.

Drafted 20th overall by the Spurs in 2010, Anderson was playing his first game against his former team since signing with Houston in early January.

Anderson appeared in 87 games over part of three campaigns with the Spurs, including 10 this season. He said the experience of playing for Gregg Popovich provided a foundation for the rest of his career.

“Just being around all the veterans, I picked up a lot of stuff from them,” Anderson said. “It definitely helped expand my game.”

Popovich likewise was heartened to see Anderson find a soft landing in Houston after the Spurs let him go for good in December.

“You bet,” Popovich said. “He’s a great kid. He’s worked hard. It’s super that he’s found a place here.”